Dayne Sherman, author of Welcome to the Fallen Paradise, is a Louisiana native who evacuated just before Hurricane Katrina hit. Knowing how close this man is to the land and the soil, I’m sure it was a difficult choice to leave but he loaded up the car with family and dogs and headed to the safety of relatives in Arkansas.
A very hip colleague on The Velvet mentioned a piece Dayne wrote about the hurricane, his native soil, and what it would take to rebuild. So I wholeheartedly recommend Coping with Katrina presented here by SoMA Review.
One of my favorite bits of this piece is an amazing scene where Dayne describes stopping on his drive out of Louisiana for lunch. Still slightly unsure if this hurricane is going to be that different from all the others, Dayne’s convoy pulls over for some burgers and corndogs. Standing there waiting for his food, Dayne notices that the stoplights are all just yellow flashing caution lights. Slow down, be careful, but don’t stop. It’s an eerily mundane given tremendous import due to the circumstances.
But I won’t give too much away. Just read it.
Thanks for posting Dayne’s piece on the hurricane evacuation. As a fellow author and evacuee, I’m writing to say that we are trying to locate dispaced authors in our area to offer them support and relief if needed. We have a web site http://www.NewOrleansLiteraryInstitute.com where the Katrina Arts Relief and Emergency Support (KARES) is providing information and help. Authors can sign up on the site to inform everyone of their whereabouts and tell their stories. Also, on this site The Tennessee Williams New Orleans Literary Festival accepts donations to assist in recovery, and we deeply appreciate people like you getting the word out to the literary communities.